The Powell Principles: 24 Lessons from Colin Powell, a Battle-Proven Leader

Excellent primer and on-going guide to how to enhance one's personal and professional development to help insure a successful career.

Excellent. To the point and usable. I am a better GM/COO because of it. I gave it to my managers for required reading.

The title of this review is my favorite line from the book. Author Oren Harari gives a short and concise distillation of the leadership principles of former secretary of state Colin Powell. The book is presented as a collection of short sections each outlining one of twenty-four principles espoused in the book. Although much of what is covered in each principle seems like common sense and aligned with what other leadership books have to offer, there is enough that is new and fresh to make this work a worthwhile and fresh read. One of my favorite principles of the book is presented towards the end and is entitled "Challenge the Pros". The main point of this principle encourages leaders not to be afraid to challenge the pros even in their own backyard. By pros he means consultants, attorneys, accountants and the like. Another one of my favorite principles is the notion of trusting those in the trenches. Powell believes that people in the trenches are closer to everything local --- conditions, allies, enemies, customers, employees, suppliers and competitors. I can not count how many times I have worked for an organization that totally ignores the opinions of those that are actually doing the work. There are several other principles that I think make this book worth purchasing to add to your leadership knowledge. I also like the way the book is organized. Each lesson is presented in two or three pages with each lesson ending with three suggestions for how to implement or work to introduce the principle into your life or organization. Over the past year, I have read many books on leadership. What is most impressive about this one is that I feel I gained so much more information without having to read 300 pages! The thing that I like the most about Powell's ideas is that he is speaking from experience as a leader in the military as well as the former Secretary of State.

Colin Powell gives us his strategies for success in this wonderful book. I am a CEO of a Fortune 500 company who has struggled with some of these issues over the years. This book helped me to understand that I am not alone and that some issues, although unspoken, are shared by all in leadership roles.